1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a luminaire for luminous advertisement.
2. Background Art
Luminous advertisements on building facades, such as store names or the like, generally consist of individual luminaires, each of which has the shape of an individual letter of the name. Each individual luminaire letter must be manufactured with its individual shape adapted to the given appearance and size of the lettering in the luminous advertisement. In the known luminaires, the housing that receives the light source, which is formed of an appropriately curved fluorescent tube, is manufactured individually from aluminum sheets or sheet steel in such a way that a bottom corresponding to the shape and size of the letter is cut out of sheet material and provided with an edge that is made of an appropriately folded, strip-shaped flat material and forms the sidewalls of the housing. The open face opposite the bottom is closed with a translucent coverxe2x80x94the so-called xe2x80x9creflectorxe2x80x9dxe2x80x94which, again, takes the outline or contour of the letter.
To simplify the production of his type of luminaire, it was suggested, for example in DE 94 15 477 U1, to form the housing in one piece by milling its outer contour and milling out the interior of the housing from a massive block of millable synthetic material. This eliminates minimum air gaps, as they are required for high voltage connections of fluorescent tubes relative to metallic housing components, thus resulting in a reduced overall depth of the luminaire.
As light diodes with ever increasing luminosities are being developed, these are now increasingly used as light sources for luminous advertisement, as it is revealed, for example, in DE 93 07 862 U1. Light diodes have significant advantages in his context, since they can be operated at low voltage, for example, and are significantly less susceptible to failure and damage than fluorescent tubes. Furthermore, their power consumption is up to 90% less than that of so-called xe2x80x9cneon advertisementsxe2x80x9d.
For the known luminaires with light diodes, the box-shaped housings that were described at the beginning are still used, on the bottom of which a multitude of light diodes are arranged on interlinked modules. The use of these huge quantities compensates for the low luminosity of the individual light diodes. However, the outer appearance of luminaires of this type is virtually indistinguishable from the customary neon advertisements since the side elements of the housings still consist of nontransparent, easily punchable and bendable metal material. If a housing is to be produced that also has an illuminated edge, this edge must be assembled of translucent material in a complex procedure, which is particularly difficult in the case of curved edges.
The invention is based on the object of creating a luminaire for luminous advertisement that presents the appearance of a fully luminous body. This object is met with the characteristics which consist in a massive core plate that reflects the desired contour shape of the luminaire, with the core plate made of an opaque material; a multitude of light diodes that are individually inserted into corresponding receptacle bores in the rear of the core plate, with the light diodes connected to a voltage supply; and a cover plate that tightly covers the rear with the light diodes. The corresponding luminaire incorporates a massive core plate that reflects the desired contour shape of the luminaire and is made of an opaque, i.e., translucent but not transparent material. A multitude of light diodes are individually inserted into corresponding receptacle bores provided on the rear of the core plate and connected to an appropriate power supply. A cover plate is furthermore provided, which tightly covers the rear with the light diodes.
Based on the above-explained design of an inventive luminaire, this luminaire is very sturdy and optimally suited for use on building facades. For the placement and fastening of the light diodes, a simple design provides for a seat in the respective receptacle bores. From an illumination point of view, this placement is relevant within the meaning of the object of the present invention in that the light that is emitted by the light diodes transmits through the wall of the receptacle bores directly into the body of the core plate, where it is scattered by the opaque material, and the core plate thus shines in its full volume, xe2x80x9cfrom insidexe2x80x9d, so to speak. The core plate thus also shines through all exterior surfaces in such a manner that an even illumination characteristic is attained by the use of the opaque material. Lastly, with the cover closure, the luminaire is protected against all kinds of weather.
Additional characteristics, details and advantages of the invention furthermore become apparent from the following description, in which an example embodiment of the inventive object is explained in detail based on the appended drawings.